Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by richtree

AT least we will run the ball then....without the line we won't run pass or do anything else......

People need to realize that putting Saffold in RT or OG is going to be a disaster for our O-line when he faces better bull rushes... HE'S A FINESSE LINEMAN GOD DAMNIT!!! He's had one hiccup season and some of you guys have already given up on him, maybe some of you need to look more at the trenches and not the QB or the receivers... I feel absolutely idiotic for trusting McDaniels with our offense, our offense was designed to run the WCO (which they were very good at in 2010), not a 7-step dropback spread offense. The receivers should also be held accountable for O-line woes seeing that Gibson can't run routes properly if his life depended on it and then LBs and safeties can happily rush Sam till he's David S'Carr'd.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by fliptalianstallion

People need to realize that putting Saffold in RT or OG is going to be a disaster for our O-line when he faces better bull rushes... HE'S A FINESSE LINEMAN GOD DAMNIT!!! He's had one hiccup season and some of you guys have already given up on him, maybe some of you need to look more at the trenches and not the QB or the receivers... I feel absolutely idiotic for trusting McDaniels with our offense, our offense was designed to run the WCO (which they were very good at in 2010), not a 7-step dropback spread offense. The receivers should also be held accountable for O-line woes seeing that Gibson can't run routes properly if his life depended on it and then LBs and safeties can happily rush Sam till he's David S'Carr'd.

Doesn't matter if you want Saffold at left tackle or right tackle....we still need another tackle...a center., and a guard....and even more if you want any depth.....

Blackmon seems to be a great pick....any I think he probably will end up being the right pick ....but unless you add 3 starters guard, center, and tackle....we will have a below average line.....

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Rams have so many holes to fill that one player will not make a difference. I would trade down, then try to trade down again to around the mid 20's. They could come away with a 1st, 3-4 2nds and 3-4 3rds. You could fill some serious holes with that many picks in the top 3 rounds.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by Rambos

Let me ask this question, how many rushing TD did SJ have this year? The answer is 5.. last year he had 6... behind this O line he can't score points. This team is terrible in the redzone getting yards in the middle of the field is one thing but can we score on the ground? As someone else mentioned what would SJ do behind the Broncos line one can only wonder, Tebow has 8 this year almost double what SJ had.

Arian Foster 16
Michael Turner 13
Adrian Peterson 12

You would think SJ would double his output, he is a beast right?

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone thinks this line is going to be good enough next year without upgrades..

I agree we need an upgrade, but not as big as Kalil necessarily depending on the next offensive scheme.

However, do the Texans, Falcons, or Vikings have the problem of commiting penalites as soon as they get to the red zone? Due they have a lack of playmakers to get open in the red zone? Did they have contiously odd play calls in the red zone?

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Doesn't matter if you want Saffold at left tackle or right tackle....we still need another tackle...a center., and a guard....and even more if you want any depth.....

Blackmon seems to be a great pick....any I think he probably will end up being the right pick ....but unless you add 3 starters guard, center, and tackle....we will have a below average line.....

I'm well aware we have a glaring hole at LG, C, and potentially RT.
For LG, Bell is done unless Fisher is our HC and he's willing to suddenly revive his career (Tennessee connection), we can put Jason Brown there assuming he'll take a paycut, or we can get one at draft or FA.
For centers, this is a pretty good class, we should be able to nab Ben Jones in the 2nd round.
For RT, I'm willing to give Smith one more chance, and if his concussions get the best of him, then we can release him and give him a "Thank you" letter on his last paycheck.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by Rambos

Let me ask this question, how many rushing TD did SJ have this year? The answer is 5.. last year he had 6... behind this O line he can't score points. This team is terrible in the redzone getting yards in the middle of the field is one thing but can we score on the ground? As someone else mentioned what would SJ do behind the Broncos line one can only wonder, Tebow has 8 this year almost double what SJ had.

Arian Foster 16
Michael Turner 13
Adrian Peterson 12

You would think SJ would double his output, he is a beast right?

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone thinks this line is going to be good enough next year without upgrades..

My first post on this board was about sj39 not hitting holes hard.... Stutter stepping and dancing is the reason he cant score more tds. Its been countless times the rams have been in the readzone and sj cant get 4yds. Its not the line, its him. And another reason is becuase he has lost a step as far as speed. And idk but sj is probably the only back in the league history with 7 straight 1000yds seasons and only one season had double digital tds

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

People need to realize that putting Saffold in RT or OG is going to be a disaster for our O-line when he faces better bull rushes... HE'S A FINESSE LINEMAN GOD DAMNIT!!!

I gotta say your wrong on this...

Mike Mayock of NFL Films praised Saffold for his excellent versatility. He believes Saffold can play any one of four positions along the offensive line—anything but the center position.

Saffold can move to RT and or inside.... if the Rams feel Kalil is just to good to pass up. One thing we know the Rams did not spend a high draft pick and pay Jason Smith to play RT.

On July 30, 2009 the Rams agreed to terms with Smith on a six-year contract with $33 million in guarantees. The maximum value of the deal is $61 million. The sixth year is voidable, which would leave Smith with $6.6 million per year over five years.

Currently, Smith is the starting right tackle for the Rams. Though drafted as a left tackle he has been beaten out by 2010 Rams rookie Rodger Saffold

Look no one is giving up on Rodger Saffold he's going to be very good. Smith is the issue. We need to upgrade the O line. If you already have a very good tackle and can add what most are saying could be a franchise LT you have to consider it period.

FestusRam I agree we need an upgrade, but not as big as Kalil necessarily depending on the next offensive scheme.

However, do the Texans, Falcons, or Vikings have the problem of commiting penalites as soon as they get to the red zone? Due they have a lack of playmakers to get open in the red zone? Did they have contiously odd play calls in the red zone?

This all hurts Jacksons chances in the red zone.

"but not as big as Kalil necessarily depending on the next offensive scheme", not sure what scheme we are going to be running but in every scheme you need to protect your QB and run the the ball..

Fisher looks to be the guy right now and he's a run first type coach. I don't care if we take Blackmon over Kalil I really don't. That being said we still need to upgrade this offensive line.

However, do the Texans, Falcons, or Vikings have the problem of commiting penalites as soon as they get to the red zone?

I think this falls under upgrading the offensive line play right, false starts are killers... If you can really run the ball and win the battle of the line, once you get into the red zone we should score more often then we do, we look soft more often then not and it has nothing to do with play-makers. Man up and pound the rock!

Again I would be just as exited as everyone else if we took Blackmon believe me.. but only if I see an upgrade on the O line.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by Rambos

I gotta say your wrong on this...

If you've seen Saffold against pure bull rushers, you'll see that he can't handle blocking them well. If you're going to put him at RT or the interior line where there are more of those. We'll be seeing more penetration from opposing defense on the right side of the line. Saffold's athleticism shows promise of him being a viable starter at LT, AND his talents are best suited there. If anyone should be held accountable for Saffold and Smith's down year, it SHOULD be Steve Loney. The very guy who has been teaching them BAD BLOCKING TECHNIQUES.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

I stated we still need to make some moves on the line, but drafting Kalil isn't necessary with a 3 step scheme like the WCO.

Our line was upgraded from last year but the amount of time for the plays to develop and teams with big leads early blitzing really devastated our QBs.

Ill also repeat that this line minus Harvey Dahl performed well in the WCO...

Rams' offense was ranked 26th in the NFL that year......I wouldn't say the OL played that well. Bradford didn't get battered due to Shurmurball,but it wasn't like the offense was all that productive at moving the football.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

I stated we still need to make some moves on the line, but drafting Kalil isn't necessary with a 3 step scheme like the WCO.

Our line was upgraded from last year but the amount of time for the plays to develop and teams with big leads early blitzing really devastated our QBs.

Ill also repeat that this line minus Harvey Dahl performed well in the WCO...

The WCO did help Sam Bradford, but it didn't help SJ39 in the same way.? I think no matter what type of scheme the Rams end up employing, and especially if Fisher IS hired.?? A massive emphasis will be placed into the OL, this year hopefully.? Im thinking Fisher is going to try and improve our run-blocking enormously. It's something I always admired in his teams, watching them play over the years.

Re: If Fisher is hired, it builds the case to draft Blackmon.

Originally Posted by bradwill

Rams' offense was ranked 26th in the NFL that year......I wouldn't say the OL played that well. Bradford didn't get battered due to Shurmurball,but it wasn't like the offense was all that productive at moving the football.

I don't know what team you were watching, but we were tied for 6th in 2010 for trips to the red zone. Seems like we could move the ball fairly well in the first 80 yards. It's those that 20 that have plagued Bradford, and it seems like every trip we try throwing a fade route that goes incomplete. I don't know if it is him, or the receivers, but if Bradford finds a receiver with whom he can connect with on those fades, we'll start winning games, I guarantee it.

Originally Posted by Howard Balzer

It would probably be a surprise for some to discover that only five NFL teams had more red-zone trips than the Rams' 56 in 2010: New England, 67; New Orleans, 61; San Diego, 59; and Atlanta and Philadelphia, 58. Indianapolis also had 56. Of those six teams, all but San Diego made the playoffs and the Chargers were 9-7. Those six teams combined for a 67-29 record.

The Saints ranked lowest of those teams in red-zone touchdown percentage (20th), but they still scored 31 touchdowns, which was more than the 27 total touchdowns the Rams scored all season.

The Patriots scored 42 red-zone touchdowns, the Colts 38, Falcons 35, Chargers 33 and Eagles 31.
Meanwhile, the Rams' red-zone touchdown production was downright ugly. Their 35.7 percent success rate was better than only Carolina (30.3). No other team was under 40 percent. Their 20 red-zone touchdowns topped only five teams: Buffalo and Cleveland, 19; Miami, 18; Arizona, 16 and Carolina, 10. All those teams had significantly fewer red-zone trips.

And that brings us back to drafting Blackmon or another first round receiver. Personally, my pre-scouting pick is Jeffery out of South Carolina(I think). He's 6'4" and has very good production. Exactly what the doctor ordered for those red zone fade routes. Plus, we can trade down a little in the 1st round and still grab him, so we can get more picks.

As for the linemen, yes Saffold is a smaller finesse tackle. Deal with it and either play him at LT or trade him to Indy who strongly regrets not taking him to protect Manning's neck last year. Brown has been a consistent performer for Baltimore and our first season. I don't know what went wrong but I think that you'll see a much better performance out of him in 2012 than we did this year, and I hope he goes back to being our starting center. Bell's a wildcard with Fisher a possibility. Maybe he will have a return to good performance. Finally, Smith can play, we just need to be worried about his body holding up. If he's not wearing an advanced concussion diminishing helmet, he needs to get one and now.